Back Off

Backstroke starts. In some swim leagues, backstrokers are permitted to start fully out of the water, toes on the edge of the pool, heels in the water, hand gripping the sides of the block. In this type of start, the swimmer actually does a back dive into the water.

The attraction of these types of starts is because it takes less effort to drive backwards when your body is out of the water, rather than having to lift your body out of the water when starting by gripping the bar, body in the water, as is usually done for backstroke.

*The back dive from out of the water should only be done by very experienced swimmers, as there is a danger of diving to deep, but is not permitted at the USS, Masters, or Olympic level of competition.

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